Larry Sanders Working to Control His Temper

Last season, Larry Sanders emerged as an NBA star on the defensive end of the floor. He was handsomely rewarded for it, and the Milwaukee Bucks would like their young stud to stay on the floor a lot longer going forward, by avoiding confrontations with the refs (no matter how hilarious those may be.) Per the Journal Sentinel: “His temper led to 14 technical fouls last season, near the top of the league in that dubious category. So it’s no surprise he and new Bucks coach Larry Drew already have had a conversation about, ah, tempering the young center’s excitement. ‘I’ve talked to a lot of people about keeping my head focused on winning the game,’ Sanders said Monday at the news conference to announce his four-year contract extension. ‘What my perspective should be. I know coach hates it when you talk to the ref. I know he hates that. I’ve heard him say it already. Those are wrinkles that are getting ironed out. I’m sure he’s not going to hold his tongue so I’ll just let him talk to the ref.’ [...] ‘When I took the job, one of the first things he and I did, we went out to dinner and sat and talked,’ Drew said. ‘We were very candid. And he recognized that’s something he has to get better at. And that’s something I’m going to expect him to get better at. You talk about accountability. For me, it’s one of my pet peeves when you talk about transition defense and while you’re squabbling with the official the other team is running at you and you’re putting your team at a disadvantage. That’s not acceptable. But it’s something we’ve already talked about. He understands what he has to do and it’s my job to make sure he gets it done. And I really believe in my heart and soul, he’s going to be a different player in that regard. Larry has taken tremendous strides since coming into our league. And it’s my job to keep him on the right path. Not only Larry, but the rest of our guys. We’re going to get better at it as a team. We’ve got to do all the things necessary to put us in a position to win games, and that’s one of them.’”